John d



(No Model.)

J. D. HALL. THERMOMETER GRADUATING MACHINE.

No. 449,442. Patented Mar.31,1891.

iq'n'rmes ES:

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN D. HALL, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THOMAS C. BALDERSTON, OF SAME PLACE.

TH ERMOMETER-G RADUATING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 449,442, dated March 31, 1891.

Application filed December 19, 1590. derial No. 375,227. (No model.)

To (oZZ whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, JOHN D. HALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Thermometer- Graduating Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to machines for grad- 0 uating thermometers; and it consists of certain novel parts and combinations of parts,

which will be separately pointed out in the claims concluding this specification.

In spirit-thermometers the rate of expansion of alcohol increases as the temperature is raised. Hence the length of. the degreespaces of spirit-thermometers must increase at a certain fixed rate toward the top when the bore of the tube is of uniform capacity throughout its length, at a less rapid rate when the capacity of the tube increases toward the top, and at a more rapid rate when it diminishes toward the top. The bores of glass tubing are commonly more or less tapering, and the bulbs of the thermometer-tubes made by the most expert operator seldom have acertain capacity relatively to the capacity of the tube. For these reasons the degree-spaces of spirit-thermometers are an ever-varying quantity in obedience to the presence of one or more of these several contingenciesviz., the law of increase in the rate of expansion of the spirit used in the parallel tube, the slower or more rapid rate of increase in the tube whose capacity increases or decreases toward the top, and the greater or lesser average degree-spaces when the bulb has a greater or lesser comparative capacity. Therefore the object of myinvention is to producea thermometer-graduating machine which shall be readily and conveniently adjustable to any and all of the abovestated conditions and variations.

For the purpose of informing those skilled in the art to which my invention appertains of the nature of my inventions and for the purpose of instructing them how the same may be particularly and advantageously employed, I will now describe the devices which constitute my thermometer-graduating ma- 5o chine as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and in which- Figure 1 is atop plan View of the complete machine. Fig. 2 shows the lower edge of the same. Fig. 3 shows in perspective so much of the machine as illustrates the relation of the index and ruling devices, the sliding tube, and the swinging plate which carries them. Fig. 4 shows the sliding tube and the rest for the thermometer back or plate. Fig. 5 is a crosssection taken on the line at a: of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a similar section taken on the line y 1 of Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is an end View of the table, upon the upper inclined side of which the operating parts are mounted. Fig; 8 shows one of the setting-points of the index-plates, and Fig. 9 shows the adjustable setting-point of the index-plates.

Referring to the drawings, A is a plain bedor table, smooth and true, of suitable construction and material, mounted at an inclination upon legs or a pair of horses, as seen in Fig. 7.

B is a metal plate of sheet brass, zinc, or iron, hammered straight and true, so as to have a firm and even seating upon the table. This plate is supported in position upon the table by means of slide-bar F, resting against the upper edge of the table and free to he slid along the same. At ornearits left-hand 8o corner this plate is pivotally connected to said slide-bar, and at or near its upper righthand corner this plate has a segmental slotm, through which a set-screw it passes into said slide-bar, whereby to set and hold the plate at any desired angle on the table, for a purpose which I will presently state. At and along the left-hand edge of this plate a grooved. metal bar D is rigidly attached, and it is at the upper end of this bar that the plate B is pivoted to slide-bar F bythe pivot-bolt a.

E is a plain bar of metal of form and size to fit and slide in the grooveb of the fixed bar D and to project sufficiently above said groove to permit of the clamping thereto of 5 adjustable index-plates N N, so as to extend over the table-plate B in parallel relation to each other. At asuitable distance below these index-plates is rigidly attached a ruling-plate L, standing over the table-plate in parallel relation to said index-plates.

D is a piece of square metal tubing slotted along its upper side and clamped to the table-plate by a th LlIDb-SGI'GW k, passing through the ruling-plate L, and by a thumb-screw Z, Figs. 1 and 3,which passes through a'bracket T, which is rigidly attached to the table-plate, and is secured by the pivot a to the slide-bar F, whereby the said tubular bar is made adjustable upon the table. At its lower end this slotted bar has rigidly attached to it a rest P for the thei'mometerplate, which is placed in position against the said slotted bar beneath the index and ruling plates.

K is a rack having as many notches or teeth as I desire to make of degree-marks on any thermometer I have to graduate. This rack is placed at the left end of the table and stands obliquelyin relation to the latter, and with its upper end nearest to the pivot to of the table-plate.

H is a lever having a pivotal attachment to the right end of thetable at cand provided.

at its free or left end with a pawl-lip attachment at d to engage with the rack, the teeth whereof for this purpose stand upward. A cord g and weight attachment j are connected to thefree end of this lever at h, and, passing over a pulley g at the upper edge of the fable, serve to hold the lever in engagement with the rack. The relation of this lever to the pivoted table-plate is such that a pin or stud Z, rigidly attached to the ruling-plate L, will rest against the upper edge of the said lever H, whereby the bar E, with its several attachments, is supported by its own gravity in contact with said lever. To prevent such rest from wearing or cutting irregularities in the said lever and to render the movements of said stud along the lever smooth and true, I provide the stud with a rectangular washer f. (Seen in Fig. 3.)

The two index-plates N N are provided with under lugs O, and are bent down at their ends outside of the bar E to receive thumbscrews S, whereby the said index-plates may be clamped to said bar at any point desired. These index-plates N N are provided with double joints 1 i, so that the index part u will always lie flat upon the surface of the thermometer plate or back that is being graduated, whatever its thickness, as seen in Figs. 5 and 6. These double'joints are formed by a loosely-jointed section in each part, with the joints standing transverse. These indexplates are also formed or provided at their outer or bent ends with index-points e, which are set or adjusted to the lines R R, which are drawn upon the table and extend diagonally from the pivot of the lever H to that part of the rack which stands above the lever, for a purpose which I shall presently state. The ruling-plate L is also provided with double joints 1" r, so that the ruling part w will lie flat upon the face of the thermometer back or plate that is to he graduated, whatever its thickness, and itis against the upper edge of this plate that the graduation or degree lines are drawn upon the thermometer-back with a pen, a point, or an engraving-tool.

In a promiscuous lot of thermometers to be graduated are rarely found two successive scales in which the freezing-points, for instance, are the same distance from the lower ends of the plates or thermometerbaeks. To meet this contingency, I provide my machine with a longitudinally-adjustablc rest, which, as shown, is the slotted tube D, placed parallel with the fixed bar E, and is made adjustable by the th Limb-screws 7.; and Z, and to the lower end of which the anglerest P is secured, preferably by a wedge Q, driven into the lower end of the said slotted tube, as seen in Fig. 4:. It is important that the lever H be light, true, and stiff, and it may be made of well-seasoned ash or other suitable timber. The rack I make of a thin bar of brass, steel, or iron,the'teeth ornotches being filed, milled, or otherwise formed in its upper edge and sloping downward, so that it may be readily traversed by the pawl-plate d from the top downward, as it is preferable to commence making the degree-lines at the top of the scale. To get the proper inclination of this rack upon the table, I place the lever H at the upper notch in the rack and swing the lower end of the rack to the right or left until it forms a right angle with the upper edge of the lever and then screw it fast to the bed or table. The rack K should contain fully as many teeth or notches as the greatest number of degree-lines to be made in one thermometer-scale. Thus for ordinary weather the thermometers, Fahrenheit scale, two degrees to each division, and running from 130 above zero to below zero, this rack must contain ninety-five notches. The weight j should slightly overbalance the downward pull of the lever, so that when the pawl d is placed by the operator over a tooth of the rack it will hold the same snugly up against the lower side of said tooth.

Having constructed my machine as above described, in order to render its use more c0nvenient I place upon it the two lines R and R; but in order to do this I must first decide upon not only the number of points but also what particular points I will mark bv comparison with our standard thermometer upon the tubes for which I desire to produce scales. In my practice I have commonly chosen these three pointsviz., 32, 64, and 96, which points are of course to be transferred to the scale-plate or thermometer-back whichistobe graduated. I-Iavingdecided to use thethree points mentioned,Icountoif the teeth of the rack K and mark upon it the said three the 64' point sixteen teeth higher up, and the 96 point sixteen teeth still higher, leaving seventeen teeth above said 96 point. I-Iaving thus found the three notches in the rack that must always answer to the three points mentioned I mark them and then draw upon the face of the bed A a straight line B and R from each of the two upper points marked viz., the 64 notch and the 96 notchto the center of the pivot 0. These I call adj usting or setting lines, and in adapting the machine to practical use the setting-points o c, Fig. 9, of the index-plates must be adjusted to such a length that when the machine is properly set to produce any particular scale these two setting-points r must rest upon the lines R and B, respectively. Having transferred the 32, 64, and 96points of any tube taken at random to the thermometer-back which I desire to graduate, I then place the back or plate into the machine, as indicated in Fig. 1, letting its bottom end rest upon the angular piece or hook P and place the pawl of the lever H into the 32 notch of the rack K, loosen the two thumb-screws 7t and Z and raise or lower the back until the 32 point which is marked upon the back that is to he graduated coincides with the top or ruling edge of the plate L, and then tighten the screw 70, adjust the two index-pieces N and N so that their upper edges coincide with the 96 and 64.points, respectively, of the thermometer-back, loosen the thumb-screw n, and then slide and swing the plate B with its several attachments, including the sliding block F, to the right or left, as may be required, to place the two i11- deX-points v and 4;, respectively, upon the lines R and R. I then tighten the two thumbscrews "It and l, and finally raise the lever II, with the sliding bar E and its several attachments, including the ruling-plate L, until the upper edge of the ruling-plate L reaches the proper position for the highest degree-line required in the scale, make the said line, then drop the lever II (the rulingplate will follow by its own gravity) one tooth in the rack and make the second degree line, then drop another tooth and make the third line, and so continue to do until the scale is completed.

It will be observed that when the thermometer to be graduated is swung with the plate 13 into a position parallel to the rack K the scale produced will be a non-running or nonincreasing one--that is, the degree spaces will be of the same dimensions throughout the entire length of the scale. This will be right for ordinary mercurial thermometers; but for spirit-thermometers we require a running or increasing scale, and to produce such a scale in my machine it is necessary to swing the bottom of the plate B with its superimposed parts to the right, and the more we swing it in that direction the more rapidly increasing (toward the top) will be thescale produced, and the scope of my machine is such that it will produce any scale required in ordinary practice from the least to the most rapidly running or increasing one,

It is important to notice the provision for supporting the plate B on the upper edge of the table allows it to be moved upon such support to the right or to the left, according to the length of the tube to be graduated.

Thus when moved to the right the plate acis adjustable upon the latter independent of the adjustments of the plate B.

In constructing a machine to produce the scales of tubes ranging from four inches to thirty inches in length, I make a .bed A about thirty inches wide by seven feet long, and the other parts of the machine in proportion thereto. l

I am aware thata thermometer-graduati-ng machine combining the table or bed A, the

lever H, and the rack K, and capable of producing only a non-increasing scale, is not new; but to the best of my knowledge and belief the swinging plate Band its accompanying devices which render it and the thermometer to be graduated capable of being adjusted and fixed in any desired position to suit both the length and the run of the scale are new. I-Ience WVhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a thermometer-graduating machine, the combination of the hand-lever and a rack engaged thereby, a pivoted plate movably supported upon said lever and containing the thermometer-back, and index and ruling devices, whereby the runningscale is produced, substantially as described.

2. In a thermometergraduating machine, the combination of the hand-lever, a rack en gaged thereby, a pivoted plate movably supported and containing the tlierinoineteuback, index and ruling devices, and a sliding slotted tube or bar which forms a rest for the thermometer-back and enables the adjustment of the freezing-point of the thermometer to its proper position in the machine Whatever its distance from-the bottom of the thermometer.

3. In a thermometer-graduating machine,

the combination of the hand-lever, a rack engaged thereby, a pivoted plate movably supported, and the index or setting plates adapted for adjustment in relation to surface lines drawn from the pivot of said lever to cer tain points on the rackavhereby to enable the operator to readily find the position on the machine for the graduation of any thermometer, Whether the scale be short or long, or slowly or rapidly increasing.

4:. In a thermometer-graduating machine, the combination of the hand-lever, a rack engaged thereby, a pivoted plate movably supported and containing the thermometer-back, the index or setting plates having indexpoints, the surface-lines drawn from the pivot of said lever to certain points on the rack to determine the position of said index-points, and a ruling-plate, substantially as described.

5. In a thermometengraduating machine, the index and the ruling plates provided with double joints formed by a loosely-jointed section, the joints standing transverse, for the purpose stated.

6. In a therinometer-graduating machine, the combination of the hand-lever, a rack engaged thereby, a pivoted plate movably supported and containing the thermo1neter-back and the index-plates, and means for adjusting said index-plates in relation to surface-lines extending from the pivot of said lever to certain points on the rack.

7. In a thermometer-graduating machine, the combination of the hand-lever, a rack engaged thereby, a pivoted plate movably supported and containing the thermometer-back, and the index-plates, means for adjusting said index-plates, and adjustable points 4) 0 carried thereby in relation to surface-lines extending from the pivot of said lever to certain points on the rack, tor the purpose stated.

8. In a thermometer-gratinating machine, the combination of the table, the lever, and the rack, the pivoted table-plate, having a ruling-plate provided with a stud bearing upon said lever, for the purpose stated.

9. In a thermometer-gratinating machine, the combination of the table, the lever, and the rack, the table-plate pivoted to a slidebar and having a ruling-plate provided with a stud bearing upon said lever, for the purpose stated.

10. In a therinometer-graduating machine,

a table having the lever H, the rack K, and the surface-lines R R, in combination with a plate carrying the thermometer-back and adapted to have both a sliding and a'swinging movement upon said table, and suitable index and ruling devices carried by said plate, for operation in the way described.

11. In a thermometer-graduating machine, the combination of a table, a hand-lever, and a rack, the pivoted table-plate having provisions which render it and the thermometer to be graduated capable of being adjusted and fixed in any desired position to suit both the length and the run of the scale, substantially as described.

12. In a thermometer-graduating machine, the combination, with the lever and the rack engaged thereby, of the pivoted table-plate, the adjustable index-plates, the adjustable slotted bar D, provided with the rest P for the thermometer-back, and a stud upon said plate bearing upon said lever, substantially as described.

13. In a thermometer-graduating machine, the combination of the table, the lever, and the rack, the plate 13, made adjust-able upon the table, and the bar E, m'ade adjustable upon the said plate, for the purpose stated.

ll. In a thermometer-graduating machine, the combination of the adjustable plate B, the adjustable bar E, the adjustable slotted bar D, the adjustable index and ruling devices, the table provided with the lines R R, and the rack K, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN D. HALL. Witnesses:

MORRIS R. BOGKIUS, DANIEL E. BROGAN. 

